


S is for Snow

by kuriadalmatia



Series: Alphabet Meme Series [3]
Category: Criminal Minds
Genre: Alphabet Meme, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-02-16
Updated: 2012-02-16
Packaged: 2017-10-31 06:26:33
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 720
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/340956
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kuriadalmatia/pseuds/kuriadalmatia
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The last thing Aaron Hotchner was expecting was a lengthy discourse on the origins of the phrase "pure as the driven snow" from Spencer Reid.</p>
            </blockquote>





	S is for Snow

**Author's Note:**

> Prompt by daylyn
> 
> ARCHIVING: my LJ, FFNet, DW and AO3... anyone else? Please ask first.
> 
> COMMENTS: Unbetaed.
> 
> Feedback always welcome.
> 
> DISCLAIMER: The Mark Gordon Company, ABC Studios and CBS Paramount Network Television own Criminal Minds. Salut! I just took them out to play and I promise put them back when I'm done. I'm not making any profit just trying to get these images out of my head.

/***/

The last thing Aaron Hotchner was expecting was a lengthy discourse on the origins of the phrase "pure as the driven snow" from Spencer Reid. Reid started with Shakespeare citations— _Macbeth_ and _The Winter's Tale_ —before describing a medieval leather tanning process in which dog poop, termed 'pure', was used. Then Reid went into terrifying detail about how apparently in the Middle Ages, the best kind of dog crap to use was white and that the enzymes contained in said white dog shit aided in the purification process (hence the term 'pure').

But Reid didn't use the words "poop", "shit" or "crap". He opted for the more polite "feces", "excrement" and "dung".

All this while Hotch drove the SUV along I-80 on their way to Park City, Utah. He wanted to believe that the snow which was falling at an increasingly alarming rate had something to do with Reid's lecture. However, he knew that if it were the situation, Reid would be focused on how snow was formed (which Hotch learned about two years ago during a case in Kalamazoo, Michigan) or the different types of snow (which would have been more relevant, given that the four victims in their latest case were avid skiers and snowboarders).

It wasn't until Reid launched into how shoemakers acquired cystic hydatid disease (which was, incidentally, caused by _Echinococcus granulosus_ ) that Hotch snapped, "Reid!" Because, really, he didn't want to know the details about shoemakers, dog shit and the symptoms of a disease he never heard of.

Reid snapped his mouth shut, crossed his arms over his chest, and scowled. His long hair fell over part of his face and he blew out a hard breath to try to get it to move. When he wasn't successful, he reached up, tucked the lock behind his ear, and went back to glaring out the window.

That reaction told Hotch all he needed to know. He let out a small sigh and asked, "Whose lunch money do you want me to take?"

It was a little joke of theirs started by Reid when they first got together, how Reid's high school experience would have been much different if Hotch had been there and his friend. Hotch never thought himself much as a bully-for-hire, but realized he would have done just that for Reid.

Today? It was apparently the wrong thing to say. "I can handle myself just fine, thank you," Reid retorted coldly.

If the roads weren't as treacherous, Hotch would have reached for his lover's hand. Instead, he softened his voice. "Talk to me."

Reid's scowl deepened and he didn't answer for a few miles. When he finally did, he muttered, "I'm tired of close-minded people."

"Who said what, when?"

"Hotch…" Reid warned.

"It's bothering you."

"And I'll get over it," he shot back before tacking on. "It's _not_ going to distract me from the case, Hotch."

"I never said it would," Hotch said quietly, genuinely hurt that after all this time together, Reid would automatically assume that _he_ would think that someone's crass words would distract Reid. He paused as he mentally reviewed what Reid had focused on.

 _Pure as the driven snow_.

Strange for that to trigger such hostility because, of the two of them, Reid was more experienced. Then, Reid asked harshly, "What was I supposed to say, Aaron? Brag that I popped your other cherry?"

Hotch knew he paled a little at the comment. He was proud to have Reid as a lover, but by nature, he was a private man. Hell, it took them four months to officially 'out' themselves to the team although both men knew that it was pretty much an open secret after their third date.

A third date which culminated with a round of mind-blowing sex.

"You know you can talk to me," Hotch said quietly as he eased the SUV into the high-speed lane.

"I _was_ talking to you," Reid told him, but there was no harshness in his voice. There was, perhaps, a bit of disappointment.

"I'm sorry I interrupted."

That made Reid grin a little. "Apology accepted."

"Good."

"Are you sure you don't want to know more about _Echinococcus_?"

"Maybe later."

"How about my theory about the UnSub's use of the ski pole when he stages the bodies?"

Hotch smiled softly. "Sounds good."

/***/


End file.
